U.S. patent number 9,155,132 [Application Number 13/678,557] was granted by the patent office on 2015-10-06 for microwave container.
The grantee listed for this patent is Chak Hong Gary Cheung. Invention is credited to Chak Hong Gary Cheung.
United States Patent |
9,155,132 |
Cheung |
October 6, 2015 |
Microwave container
Abstract
A microwave container includes a container body and a lid. The
container body has a bottom wall, a sidewall extending upwardly
from a periphery of the bottom wall and ending at a rim. The lid
has a top wall, a sidewall extending downwardly from a periphery of
the top wall and ending at a brim. The lid is formed with a vent
opening. The flap includes a proximal portion hingedly connected to
the brim of the lid by a living hinge and an outwardly extending
distal portion formed with a plug, wherein the flap is movable
between a free-hanging position where the flap is hanging freely
from the brim of the lid and a closed position where the flap is
flipped about the hinge over a side of the lid and the plug is
plugged into the vent opening.
Inventors: |
Cheung; Chak Hong Gary (Hong
Kong, HK) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Cheung; Chak Hong Gary |
Hong Kong |
N/A |
HK |
|
|
Family
ID: |
50710485 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/678,557 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2012 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20140138376 A1 |
May 22, 2014 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B
6/6408 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05B
6/64 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;219/735
;220/4.21,4.23,23.83,315,359.2,263,480,556,676,835 ;99/323,322 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
1st Office Action of counterpart New Zealand Application No. 617822
issued on Nov. 21, 2013. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Tran; Thien S
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A microwave container comprising: (a) a container body having a
bottom wall, a sidewall extending upwardly from a periphery of the
bottom wall and ending at a rim; (b) a lid having a top wall, a
sidewall extending downwardly from a periphery of the top wall and
ending at a brim, the lid being formed with a vent opening; and (c)
a corrugated flap having a proximal portion hingedly connected to
the brim of the lid by a living hinge and an outwardly extending
distal portion formed with a plug, wherein the flap is movable
between a free-hanging position where the flap is hanging freely
from the brim of the lid and a closed position where the flap is
flipped about the living hinge over a side of the lid and the plug
is plugged into the vent opening; wherein the proximal portion of
the flap comprises an S-shaped portion comprising a U-shaped
sealing channel disposed adjacent to the hinge and configured to
nest snugly on top of a downwardly facing U-shaped sealing channel
of the brim of the lid adjacent to the hinge, and a U-shaped
reinforcing channel configured to nest snugly on top of an upwardly
facing U-shaped reinforcing channel of the brim of the lid adjacent
to the sidewall thereof when the flap is at its closed position;
wherein the flap comprises a planar portion extending from the
U-shaped reinforcing channel, and configured to fit snugly within a
planar recess formed on the sidewall of the lid in such a manner
that the outer surface of the planar portion of the flap is flush
with adjacent outer surfaces of the lid when the flap is at its
closed position; wherein the flap further comprises an arc portion
extending from the planar portion, and configured to fit snugly
within an arc-shaped recess formed on an arched portion formed
along the top periphery of the lid in such a manner that the outer
surface of the arc portion of the flap is flush with adjacent outer
surfaces of the lid when the flap is at its closed position;
wherein the distal portion of the flap is formed with a tab
configured to fit snugly in a recessed region formed on the top
wall of the lid when the flap is at its closed position, and
defining a gap to facilitate the insertion of a finger of a user
therein in order to pull out the tab and disengage the plug from
the vent opening; and wherein the flap and the lid are formed
integrally in one single piece, and the entire flap has a
corrugated shape conforming to the side of the lid so that when the
flap is flipped to the closed position the entire flap fits snugly
to and abuts against the side of the lid without protruding out
from the lid and without forming any gap between the flap and the
lid.
2. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the living hinge
has a transverse weakened portion about which the hinge folds, and
the folding hinge has two opposite sides with two rounded corners
respectively.
3. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the U-shaped
reinforcing channel of the flap is integrally formed with a
U-shaped transverse reinforcing web with two upper ends having
upwardly diverging curved edges.
4. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upwardly facing
U-shaped reinforcing channel of the brim of the lid is integrally
formed with a plurality of U-shaped transverse reinforcing web with
two upper ends having upwardly diverging curved edges.
5. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container body
and the lid are rectangular in shape, and the flap is hingedly
connected to one side of a rectangular brim of the lid.
6. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container body
and the lid are circular in shape, and the flap is hingedly
connected to a circular brim of the lid.
Description
FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY
The present application relates to a microwave container.
BACKGROUND
Microwave containers are known in the prior art. A microwave
container is used to contain food therein and can be placed inside
a microwave oven for cooking or heating up the food. A vent opening
is usually formed on the lid of the microwave container to allow
the release of pressure and vapor that may be formed inside the
microwave container during cooking or heating up of the food inside
the microwave oven. Various mechanisms have been designed to open
and close the vent opening of a microwave container. However, the
conventional mechanisms for opening and closing the vent opening of
a microwave container are complicated in structure. Hence, there is
a need to provide an improved microwave container with a simple
mechanism for opening and closing the vent opening.
The above description of the background is provided to aid in
understanding a microwave container, but is not admitted to
describe or constitute pertinent prior art to the microwave
container disclosed in the present application, or consider any
cited documents as material to the patentability of the claims of
the present application.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect, there is provided a microwave container
including a container body and a lid. The container body has a
bottom wall and a sidewall extending upwardly from a periphery of
the bottom wall and ending at a rim. The lid has a top wall and a
sidewall extending downwardly from a periphery of the top wall and
ending at a brim. The lid is formed with a vent opening. The lid
may include a flap having a proximal portion hingedly connected to
the brim of the lid by a hinge and an outwardly extending distal
portion formed with a plug. The flap can be movable between a
free-hanging position where the flap is hanging freely from the
brim of the lid and a closed position where the flap is flipped
about the hinge over a side of the lid and the plug is plugged into
the vent opening.
The flap and the lid can be formed integrally in one single piece.
The hinge can be a living hinge. The living hinge may have a
transverse weakened portion about which the hinge can fold. The
folding hinge may have two opposite sides with two rounded corners
respectively.
The flap may have a corrugated shape conforming to an outer shape
of the side of the lid. The proximal portion of the flap may have
an S-shaped cross section configured to nest on top of the brim of
the lid having a matching S-shaped cross section when the flap is
at its closed position. The proximal portion of the flap may
include a U-shaped sealing channel disposed adjacent to the hinge
and configured to nest on top of a downwardly facing U-shaped
sealing channel of the brim of the lid adjacent to the hinge, and a
U-shaped reinforcing channel configured to nest on top of an
upwardly facing U-shaped reinforcing channel of the brim of the lid
adjacent to the sidewall thereof when the flap is at its closed
position.
The U-shaped reinforcing channel of the flap may be integrally
formed with a U-shaped transverse reinforcing web with two upper
ends having upwardly diverging curved edges. The upwardly facing
U-shaped reinforcing channel of the brim of the lid may be
integrally formed with a plurality of U-shaped transverse
reinforcing web with two upper ends having upwardly diverging
curved edges.
The flap may include a planar portion formed between the proximal
and distal portions of the flap, and configured to fit within a
planar recess formed on the sidewall of the lid in such a manner
that the outer surface of the planar portion of the flap is flush
with adjacent outer surfaces of the lid when the flap is at its
closed position. The flap may further include an arc portion formed
between the planar portion and the distal portion of the flap, and
configured to fit within an arc-shaped recess formed on an arched
portion formed along the top periphery of the lid in such a manner
that the outer surface of the arc portion of the flap is flush with
adjacent outer surfaces of the lid when the flap is at its closed
position.
The distal portion of the flap may be formed with a tab disposed in
a recessed region formed on the top wall of the lid when the flap
is at its closed position, and defining a gap to facilitate the
insertion of a finger of a user therein in order to pull out the
tab and disengage the plug from the vent opening.
In one embodiment, the container body and the lid are rectangular
in shape, and the flap is hingedly connected to one side of a
rectangular brim of the lid. In another embodiment, the container
body and the lid are circular in shape, and the flap is hingedly
connected to a circular brim of the lid.
Although the microwave container disclosed in the present
application is shown and described with respect to certain
embodiments, it is obvious that equivalents and modifications will
occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and
understanding of the specification. The present application
includes all such equivalents and modifications, and is limited
only by the scope of the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Specific embodiments of the microwave container disclosed in the
present application will now be described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a microwave container according
to an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the microwave container of FIG.
1 with a flap in a free-hanging position.
FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the microwave container of
FIG. 1 with the flap in the free-hanging position.
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the microwave container of FIG.
1 with the flap in the free-hanging position.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the microwave
container of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the microwave container of FIG.
1 with the flap in a closed position.
FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the microwave container of FIG. 1 with
the flap in a closed position.
FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of a microwave container according
to another embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the microwave container of FIG. 8 with
a flap in a free-hanging position.
FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the microwave container of
FIG. 8 with the flap in a closed position.
FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the microwave container of
FIG. 8 with the flap in a free-hanging position.
FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the microwave
container of FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of
the microwave container disclosed in the present application,
examples of which are also provided in the following description.
Exemplary embodiments of the microwave container disclosed in the
present application are described in detail, although it will be
apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features
that are not particularly important to an understanding of the
microwave container may not be shown for the sake of clarity.
Furthermore, it should be understood that the microwave container
disclosed in the present application is not limited to the precise
embodiments described below and that various changes and
modifications thereof may be effected by one skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.
For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative
embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for
each other within the scope of this disclosure and appended
claims.
In addition, improvements and modifications which may become
apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art after reading this
disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims are deemed within
the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Certain terminology is used in the following description for
convenience only and is not limiting. The words "upwards",
"downwards", "upper", "lower", "top", and "bottom" designate
directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The
terminology includes the words noted above as well as derivatives
thereof and words of similar import.
It should be noted that throughout the specification and claims
herein, when one element is said to be "coupled" or "connected" to
another, this does not necessarily mean that one element is
fastened, secured, or otherwise attached to another element.
Instead, the term "coupled" or "connected" means that one element
is either connected directly or indirectly to another element, or
is in mechanical or electrical communication with another
element.
FIGS. 1-6 are various views of a microwave container 10 according
to an embodiment of the present application. The microwave
container 10 may include a container body 12 and a lid 14.
According to the illustrated embodiment, the container body 12 and
the lid 14 of the microwave container 10 are rectangular in
shape.
The container body 12 may include a bottom wall 20, a sidewall 22
extending upwardly from a periphery of the bottom wall 20 and
ending at a rim 24. The container body 12 can be used to hold food
therein.
The lid 14 may include a top wall 30, a sidewall 32 extending
downwards from a periphery of the top wall 30 and ending at a brim
34 configured to sealingly couple to the rim 24 of the lid 14. A
vent opening 36 may be formed on the top wall 30 for the release of
pressure and vapor that may be generated inside the microwave
container 10 when the food therein is heated inside a microwave
oven. The vent opening 36 may be circular in shape or in any other
shape.
A flap 50 may be hingedly connected to the brim 34 of the lid 14 by
a hinge 58. The hinge 58 may be a living hinge. The flap 50 can be
movable between a free-hanging position, as depicted in FIG. 2,
where the flap 50 is hanging freely from the brim 34 of the lid 14
and a closed position, as depicted in FIG. 1, where the flap 50 is
flipped about the hinge 58 over a side of the lid 14 and the plug
56 is plugged into the vent opening 36 on the lid 14.
The flap 50 can be integrally formed with the lid 14 in one single
piece. The flap 50 may have a proximal portion 52 hingedly
connected to the brim 34 of the lid 14 by the hinge 58, and an
outwardly extending distal portion 54 formed with a plug 56. The
plug 56 may be cylindrical in shape. The diameter of the plug 56
can be slightly larger than the diameter of the venting opening 36
such that the plug 56 can be plugged into the vent opening 36 and
frictionally held therein to form an air-tight condition in the
container 10. The plug 56 may be in any shape that corresponds to
the shape of the vent opening 36.
According to the illustrated embodiment, the flap 50 may be very
thin and may have a uniform thickness. The flap 50 may have a
corrugated shape conforming to the outer shape of the side of the
lid 14. The outer surface of the side of the lid 14 may be formed
with recesses 82, 86 for receiving therein the flap 50 so that
outer surfaces of the flap 50 may flush with outer surfaces of the
lid 14 when the flap 50 is at its closed position.
The proximal portion 52 of the flap 50 may have an S-shaped cross
section configured to nest on top of the brim 34 of the lid 14
having a matching S-shaped cross section when the flap 50 is at its
closed position. The S-shaped proximal portion 52 of the flap 50
may define a U-shaped sealing channel 62 formed adjacent to the
hinge 58 and adapted to nest on top of a downwardly facing U-shaped
sealing channel 72 of the lid 14 adjacent to the hinge 58, and a
U-shaped reinforcing channel 60 adapted to nest on top of the an
upwardly facing U-shaped reinforcing channel 70 adjacent to the
sidewall 32 of the lid 14 when the flap 50 is at its closed
position.
The downwardly facing U-shaped sealing channel 72 may be configured
to snap onto the rim 24 of the container body 12 and seal the
container 10. The inner wall of the downwardly facing U-shaped
sealing channel 72 may be formed with a lip 66 for engagement with
the inner wall of the rim 24. The outer wall of the downwardly
facing U-shaped sealing channel 72 may be formed with a locking
shoulder 68 for locking the outer wall of the rim 24.
The U-shaped reinforcing channel 60 of the flap 50 may be formed
with a U-shaped transverse reinforcing bridge or web 64. A
plurality of U-shaped transverse reinforcing webs 76 may be formed
along the upwardly facing U-shaped reinforcing channel 70 formed
around the sidewall 32 of the lid 14. The U-shaped transverse
reinforcing web 64 and the plurality of U-shaped transverse
reinforcing webs 76 can be used to strengthen the lid 14 so that it
cannot be bent or deformed easily.
When a number of lids 14 are stacked one on top of each other, they
can be squeezed together and are difficult to separate one from the
other. The U-shaped transverse reinforcing webs 64, 76 formed on
the lids 14 can prevent a stack of lids 14 from being squeezed
together so that they can be separated easily.
Each of the U-shaped transverse reinforcing webs 64, 76 has two
upper ends having upwardly diverging curved edges. This design
enables the lids 14 to be stacked one on top of the other so that
larger quantity of the lids 14 can be placed in a box to save
transportation costs. This design also uses less plastic material
for manufacturing the lids 14. Thus it helps to save manufacturing
costs.
The flap 50 may include a planar portion 80 formed between the
proximal and distal portions 52, 54 of the flap 50 and configured
to fit in a planar recess 82 formed on the sidewall 32 of the lid
14 when the flap 50 is at its closed position.
The flap 50 may also include an arc portion 84 formed between the
planar portion 80 and the distal portion 54 of the flap 50 and
configured to fit in an arc-shaped recess 86 formed on an arched
portion 88 formed along a top periphery of the lid 14 when the flap
is at its closed position.
The distal end 54 of the flap 50 may be provided with a tab 90
disposed in a recessed region 92 formed on the top wall 30 of the
lid 14, when the flap 50 is in its closed position, and defining a
gap 94 to facilitate the insertion of a finger of a user therein in
order to pull out the tab 90 and disengage the plug 56 from the
vent opening 36.
As best illustrated in FIG. 7, the living hinge 58 may have a
transverse weakened portion about which the hinge 58 can fold, and
the folding hinge 58 can have two opposite sides with two rounded
corners 96 respectively when the flap 50 is at its closed position.
The two rounded corners 96 can avoid scratching, tearing and thus
breaking of plastic bags that may be used to hold and carry the
container 10 therein. The rounded corners 96 can also prevent
possible injury to a user.
The shape of the top wall 30 of the lid 14 can match with the shape
of the bottom wall 20 of the container body 12. This allows
containers 10 to be securely stacked one on top of the other. The
container body 12, the lid 14 with the flap 50 may be made of
plastic and may be disposable.
Although it has been shown and described that the vent opening 36
is formed on the top wall 30 of the lid 14, it is understood that
the vent opening 36 can be formed on the sidewall 32 of the lid 14.
Although it has been shown and described that the lid 14 and the
flap 50 are hingedly connected by a living hinge 58 and are
integrally formed in one single piece, it is appreciated that the
lid 14 and the flap 50 can be formed separately and connected
together by any other possible kind of hinge and means.
Although it has been shown that the microwave container 10 has a
rectangular container body 12 and a rectangular lid 14, it is
understood that the microwave container 10 can be in any other
shape such as square, circular, oval, etc.
FIGS. 8-12 are various views of a microwave container 110 according
to another embodiment of the present application. According to the
illustrated embodiment, the container body 112 and the lid 114 are
circular in shape, and the flap 150 can be hingedly connected to a
circular brim 134 of the lid 114. The container body 112 may
include a bottom wall 120, a sidewall 122 extending upwardly from a
periphery of the bottom wall 120 and ending at a rim 124. The lid
114 may include a top wall 130, a sidewall 132 extending downwards
from a periphery of the top wall 130 and ending at a brim 134. The
top wall 130 can be formed with a vent opening 136. The vent
opening 136 may be circular in shape.
A flap 150 can be integrally formed with the lid 114 in one single
piece. The flap 150 may have a proximal portion 152 hingedly
connected to the brim 134 of the lid 114 by a living hinge 158, and
an outwardly extending distal portion 154 formed with a plug 156.
The plug 156 may be cylindrical in shape. The diameter of the plug
156 can be slightly larger than the diameter of the venting opening
136 such that the plug 156 can be plugged into the vent opening 136
and frictionally held therein to form an air-tight condition in the
container 110.
The flap 150 may be hingedly connected to the brim 134 of the lid
114 by the living hinge 158. The flap 150 can be movable between a
free-hanging position, as depicted in FIG. 2, where the flap 150 is
hanging freely from the brim 134 of the lid 114 and a closed
position, as depicted in FIG. 1, where the flap 150 is flipped
about the living hinge 158 over a side of the lid 114 and the plug
156 is plugged into the vent opening 36 on the lid 114.
According to the illustrated embodiment, the flap 150 may be very
thin and may have a uniform thickness. The flap 150 may have a
corrugated shape conforming to the outer shape of the side of the
lid 114, and a curvature conforming to the circular shape of the
lid 114. The outer surface of the lid 114 may be formed with
recesses 182, 186 for receiving therein the flap 150 so that outer
surfaces of the flap 150 may flush with outer surfaces of the lid
114 when the flap 150 is at its closed position.
The proximal portion 152 of the flap 150 may have an S-shaped cross
section configured to nest on top of the brim 134 of the lid 114
having a matching S-shaped cross section when the flap 150 is at
its closed position. The S-shaped proximal portion 152 of the flap
150 may define a U-shaped sealing channel 162 formed adjacent to
the living hinge 158 and adapted to nest on top of a downwardly
facing U-shaped sealing channel 172 of the lid 114 adjacent to the
living hinge 158, and a U-shaped reinforcing channel 160 adapted to
nest on top of the an upwardly facing U-shaped reinforcing channel
170 adjacent to the sidewall 132 of the lid 114 when the flap 150
is at its closed position.
The U-shaped reinforcing channel 160 of the flap 150 may be formed
with a U-shaped transverse reinforcing bridge or web 164. A
plurality of U-shaped transverse reinforcing web 176 may be formed
around the upwardly facing U-shaped reinforcing channel 170 of the
lid 114. The U-shaped transverse reinforcing web 164 and the
plurality of U-shaped transverse reinforcing web 176 may extend
radially from a center of the circular lid 114. Each of the
U-shaped transverse reinforcing webs 164, 176 may have two upper
ends having upwardly diverging curved edges.
The flap 150 may include a generally planar portion 180 formed
between the proximal and distal portions 152, 154 of the flap 150
and configured to fit in a generally planar recess 182 formed on
the sidewall 132 of the lid 114 when the flap 150 is at its closed
position.
The flap 150 may further include an arc portion 184 formed between
the planar portion 180 and the distal portion 154 of the flap 150
and configured to fit in an arc-shaped recess 186 formed on an
arched portion 188 formed along a top periphery of the lid 114 when
the flap is at its closed position.
The distal end 154 of the flap 150 may be provided with a tab 190
disposed in a recessed region 192 formed on the top wall 130 of the
lid 114, when the flap 150 is in its closed position, and defining
a gap 194 to facilitate the insertion of a finger of a user therein
in order to pull out the tab 190 and disengage the plug 156 from
the vent opening 136.
As best illustrated in FIG. 10, the living hinge 158 may have a
transverse weakened portion about which the hinge 158 can fold, and
the folding hinge 158 may have two opposite sides with two rounded
corners 196 respectively when the flap 150 is at its closed
position.
While the microwave container disclosed in the present application
has been shown and described with particular references to a number
of preferred embodiments thereof, it should be noted that various
other changes or modifications may be made without departing from
the scope of the appending claims.
* * * * *